President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has decided to extend the declaration of a state of calamity in the Philippines due to Covid-19 until the end of the year.

Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles announced this as the State of Calamity in the country, imposed by former President Rodrigo Duterte due to Covid-19 through Proclamation No. 1218, expires on September 12.

In her press briefing, Angeles said Marcos extended the declaration for "possibly three months" or until the end of the year to preserve the benefits that a State of Calamity brings.

"The state of calamity is extended for possibly three months but only for the purpose of preserving the benefits under it, such as but not limited to, indemnification, emergency procurement, and special risk allowance for healthcare workers," she said on Monday, September 12.

Marcos has also recently approved the recommendation to allow the voluntary wearing of face masks outdoors.

Last month, Marcos said he was not keen on lifting the State of Calamity as the country would lose international support if the declaration were lifted.

"Maraming mga binibigay sa international medical community kapag state of . WHO (World Health Organization) is one of them. At kung itigil natin 'yung state of emergency, matitigil yun (The international medical community, including the WHO, is supporting countries under a state of calamity. If we lift it, the support will stop, as well)," he said.

"We are looking at amending the law in terms of procurement and all of that in the middle of an emergency," he added.

However, Marcos said amending procurement laws would take time, hence his decision to extend the nationwide State of Calamity.

"But that will take time. So malamang, we will extend (We would probably extend) it until the end of the year," he said.

Based on the Department of Health (DOH) Covid-19 Vaccination Dashboard, 18,552,043 booster doses have been administered as of September 11.

To date, the Philippines has recorded 3,906,260 Covid-19 cases.